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An Invitation to Existential Psychology
Regarding "Invitation to Existential Psychology", a relatively comprehensive mind map. "Invitation to Existential Psychology" is not only a professional psychology book, but also a valuable reading that can help people understand and cope with life challenges and find the meaning of life.
Edited at 2024-03-25 00:02:46
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An Invitation to Existential Psychology
- Valentine's Day marketing campaign
This Valentine's Day brand marketing handbook provides businesses with five practical models, covering everything from creating offline experiences to driving online engagement. Whether you're a shopping mall, restaurant, or online brand, you'll find a suitable strategy: each model includes clear objectives and industry-specific guidelines, helping brands transform traffic into real sales and lasting emotional connections during this romantic season.
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- Milano Cortina 2026 Ice Hockey Schedule
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- Outline
"An Invitation to Existential Psychology"
一、 What is existential psychology?
1. Two Dimensions of “Human”
biological
Belonging to nature and driven by biological instincts
human nature
Consciousness and reflection
Able to realize and change oneself and the world
defined by relations
Man is the sum total of all social relationships and defines himself through his relationships with others.
The fundamentals of being human
2. psychological research methods
natural science research method
Features
Treat people as objects (machines) and study human life from the outside
limitations
Only focusing on the common characteristics of people and ignoring specific people
phenomenological method
origin
Founded by Husserl, the beginning of existential philosophy
Features
Focus on “true colors” and focus on specific people
method
bracket principle
Remove stereotypes and fully accept the other person’s world
Describe, not explain
Express objective feelings rather than thoughts in a true and detailed way
horizontal principle
Don't be focused
significance
Reduce misunderstandings caused by bias
Let life experience be presented in a true and detailed way
Make people deeply understood and accepted, and become full of vitality
3. Major schools of psychology
mainstream psychology
focus point
Behavior, negative aspects of life, pathology
Research methods
natural science law
positive psychology
focus point
Human potential, strengths, positive aspects of life
Research methods
natural science law
humanistic psychology
focus point
Human potential, strengths, positive aspects of life
Research methods
Phenomenology
existential psychology
focus point
Basic life dilemmas, big life problems, positive and negative aspects of life
Research methods
Phenomenology
4. Three basic concepts of life
life feelings
Real feelings of daily life
sense of vitality
sense of security
courage to live
conscious attitude towards life
Affirm your own life
Face your fears and anxieties with courage
life energy
The ability to survive and survive for a long time
Determined by both biological and spiritual intentions
5. The “existential situation” into which human beings are born
Owen Yalom-Four Existential Situations
a. All people are mortal
b. At the decisive moment, people are alone
c. People have to choose their own life (a manifestation of freedom)
d. People must strive to create meaning in a meaningless world
Bose-Seven Basic Characteristics of Human Beings
a. Living in space
b. live in time
c. Express yourself through your body
d. Living in a common world
e. Living in a certain emotional and psychological atmosphere
f. Living in a certain historical background
g. Live with the awareness of death
6. What is an "authentic" life?
manner
1||| Stop living according to other people’s expectations
2||| Try to find out why you live
Why here?
What is most important?
What is supported? Against what?
3||| Live sincerely according to your own values
Find your own position in the basic dilemma of life
Features
full of fun and humor
Calm and calm
Comfort and heaviness go hand in hand
二、 Basic Dilemma of Life—Happiness and Pain
I. Overview
Everyone wants to be happy and away from pain, but life is always a mixture of pain and joy, and pain is a part of life.
II. What is pain?
A state and experience of pain
physical pain
physical pain
psychological pain
anxiety, depression, sadness
social pain
suffer from prejudice from society
mental anguish
dissatisfied with the times
III. How to deal with pain?
1. Trying to control pain
Try to turn pain into a solvable problem
2. Try to talk to the pain
Listen to the pain, understand its demands, and try to satisfy it
3. Use pain as a gift
Focus on the growth brought about by pain and look forward with gratitude
4. Acknowledge that pain cannot be changed
Stop resisting “extreme situations” and accept pain as part of life
"Only then will I accept pain as my destiny. I feel sad, like I acknowledge the existence of pain, live in the tension of acceptance and non-acceptance, sometimes fight against it, try to reduce or delay it, but in the end I admit that this pain is mine, it belongs to me. No one can take it away again. It became a part of my life - I began to love my destiny"]
IV. Definitions of happiness by various schools of thought
Positive and Mainstream Psychology
Happiness is "subjective pleasure"
High life satisfaction
low negative emotions
humanistic psychology
Happiness is a "deep and lasting" state (such as flow)
Basic realization of potential
Able to live according to values
existential psychology
Happiness is "the calmness of calm joy"
1||| free
Follow your heart and not be restrained by the world
Physical or psychological freedom, such as a sense of ease and acceptance during meditation
2||| joy
Lively, energetic, and humorous (positive feelings about life)
Experience yourself as part of a larger whole
3||| calm
Respect reality calmly and soberly
A clear understanding of death
"Unfulfilled Life" (Existential Guilt)
"Death follows me"
authentic life
V. How to achieve "calm and joyful peace"?
Meet the world freely and openly
1||| free
Actively and autonomously make choices and take responsibility
No longer put yourself in a state of "forcing yourself" because of "embarrassment"
2||| open
Act accordingly and put less labels on them and put them on later
Face reality objectively and find your own position
3||| meet
Be open to each other's presence and make it more fulfilling
三、 Basic Dilemma of Life—Love and Loneliness
I. Overview
Everyone wants love, but everyone inevitably has to endure loneliness
Loneliness cannot be eliminated, but love can share it
Loneliness makes love meaningful, love makes loneliness more real
II. five types of love
1||| love
Sex-based attraction and obsession with the opposite sex
2||| family affection
Long-lasting attachment, belonging and care (intimacy)
3||| Friendly
the interest, belonging, and care that arise in friendship
4||| fraternity
Compassionate love directed toward all people (universal love)
5||| material love
Love directed toward a specific object, activity, or ideology (e.g., patriotism)
A specific relationship may contain all of these kinds of love at the same time (If there is both love and family affection between partners)
III. "Love" between partners
definition
a feeling of deep concern, affection, and devotion
core features
1||| Close contact, mutual attachment, strong sense of oneness and connection
2||| giving and receiving from each other
The first is each other’s physical and mental presence
3||| Let the other person be who they are
Combining a commitment to love for another person with a willingness to let them be themselves
4||| Love happens naturally and cannot be planned or conscripted
When you meet others with an open and receptive mind, love can happen
IV. six forms of love
1||| Passionate
romantic love
2||| Game type
love of games
3||| friendship type
friendship love
4||| Possessive
possessive love
5||| Selfless
devotional love
6||| rational type
realistic love
V. concepts related to loneliness
separation
social reality of being separated from others
voluntary or forced
Whether this is good or bad depends on individual needs
lonely
The sadness of wanting someone to accompany you
Lonely
definition
Existential awareness of one's being alone in the world
frightening or exciting
Performance
1||| The individual world is subjective and differs from person to person
People's life histories are different
2||| Individual experiences can only be shared with others to a limited extent
A person who feels deeply lonely will experience the uniqueness of his life. Being different from others. I am not a specimen or a breed. I am who I am and there is no one else like me.
individualize
social phenomenon of alienation between individuals
More prominent in contemporary times
individuation
definition
A person's process of finding himself (personal development)
Driven by subjective and active self-awareness, individuals have the tendency of self-realization
feature
lonely journey
The recurring struggle between consciousness and subconsciousness
Major decisions will always be made. Before that, individuals must wait and persist. until an acceptable solution emerges
result
"The bird struggles out of the egg."
Individuals develop unique traits (both universal and specific)
VI. Three mechanisms to escape loneliness
1||| Engagement in an authority or symbiotic relationship
Fusion with someone or something other than oneself (love, religion)
2||| destructive
Want to destroy the outside world where I feel powerless
3||| mechanical convergence
Blindly follow the crowd and lose yourself
VII. What are social ties
definition
Relationships arising from encounters and interactions between people
Features
Relationship building marks the beginning of regularization
The depth of communication determines the mode of communication
Relationships will last the rest of your life
One cannot escape
VIII. How to unite individuals and society?
Authentic interaction
Present yourself fully, freely and responsibly
Enable people to be themselves while also being able to get along harmoniously with others
四、 Basic life dilemmas—success and adversity
I. Overview
Life is a mixture of success and adversity
Everyone wants success (things go as planned), but inevitably encounters adversity (endures crises and trauma)
II. Concepts related to "crisis"
psychological crisis
The impact on the soul itself makes people shocked, painful, and lose direction.
trauma
Damage to the soul from the outside world
Trauma often accompanies crisis
III. "Crisis" Therapeutic Theory
1||| cathartic orientation
Believes that a crisis is a serious event in life and must be actively intervened by a therapist to help the client accept reality and release emotions
Will destroy the autonomy of the parties
2||| psychodynamic orientation
Emphasis on the connection between the crisis and the family of origin and childhood experiences, trying to find the reasons from the past
In fact, although the past is relevant to the present, it is not decisive
3||| Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Orientation
Think of a crisis as a severe external trauma. It must be treated like a sick person.
Will personify and pathologize
IV. Existential theory of "crisis"
（1） View
Crises are a part of normal life and everyone goes through them
（2） The experience of crisis
1||| The structure of space and time has partially collapsed (the individual is overwhelmed)
2||| Strong and shocking physical sensations
3||| Intense mental activity (thinking repeatedly in circles)
（3） Basic characteristics of crisis
1||| Sudden interruption of normal life
2||| Fierce and dangerous, leading people to the unknown
3||| Involves a break with the past, painful and sad
4||| Rebirth the individual
（4） Three dimensions of crisis
1||| lose
physical loss
Loss of a friend, home, or body part, as well as a connected relationship or emotion
psychological loss
Loss of character, values, lifestyle, sense of belonging
Loss of worldview and meaning
The individual's basic assumptions about the world are destroyed
1||| The world is basically kind
2||| The world has meaning and can be intervened (good and evil are rewarded)
3||| i am valuable
existential loss
The individual loses a part of his or her existence
Bosch said: "When an individual leaves me, my relationship with it also disappears; and these relationships with the people and things in my life just constitute my existence and who I am now. In a certain way To the extent that these people or things leave me and I forget them, my existence as a person is weakened.”
2||| adversity
feature
Individuals’ existential situations vary
"Adversity coefficient"
An established fact that an individual cannot resist
Didn't choose to be born, but came to this world
Race, nationality, temperament, appearance, and personality cannot be chosen.
Everyone is "thrown" into the world This fact is cruel and absurd, but it cannot be explained. The only thing people can be sure of is "I am"
how to face
Accept your own facts, immerse yourself in the real situation, and take action based on this
3||| existential openness
Observe the true meaning of life
See the basic existential situation
to the depths of existence
take over your life
（5） How to deal with crisis
Let feelings and emotions emerge, be perceived and expressed
Understand the psychological motivations behind emotions
Try to "break out of the cocoon and be reborn"
Self-insight, explore one’s basic assumptions about the world, and move towards true self-development
Critically rethinking the meaning of life
Facing realization, critically examine events and other people's remarks, find the true self, and finally get rid of the sense of meaninglessness
五、 Basic life dilemma—death anxiety and involvement in life
I. Overview
We are all afraid of death, but being too afraid can make people unable to fully engage in life and become very anxious.
If we can face and welcome death, our energy, vitality and courage will be released.
II. Kübler-Ross' five-stage theory of the dying
1||| deny
unwilling to face the facts
2||| anger
Resentment, rage, jealousy, etc.
3||| bargain
Trying to postpone death (by relying on medicine or God)
4||| depression
sad, depressed
5||| accept
Accept your fate and retreat into your own little world
III. How to deal with “death anxiety”
Death Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms (Owen Yalom)
anxiety
No specific fear object
Death anxiety is the fear of non-existence or annihilation
fear
Have a specific object
Death fear refers to specific events related to death (such as pain)
Two defense mechanisms
1||| Believe that you are special
Believes oneself to be sacred and inviolable, and feels that death is the fate of others and has nothing to do with oneself
2||| Believe in the great savior
Death anxiety and death desire (Conderau)
Contradiction
We not only hope to extend our lives through technology, but we are intoxicated and wantonly destroying our health.
scope of death anxiety
What happens after death?
pain of death
separation from loved ones
loneliness
Death is irreversible
Sources of death anxiety
1||| Not yet fully realizing one's life (unrealized life)
2||| Life is full of uncertainty now
The nature of death anxiety
1||| It is the most basic anxiety of human beings
2||| It's a normal mental state
3||| May masquerade as fear or other pathological anxiety
4||| About life itself, the courage to exist, and facing the world freely and openly
Anxiety, existential guilt (Rollo May)
Anxiety is the experience of an impending "non-existent" threat
For example, nervousness when being slandered by others (fear of ego death)
Anxiety and freedom are closely linked
Anxiety means having choices, and having choices means freedom
To step out of the comfort zone, destroy the existing sense of security, and move towards the unknown, heralding new possibilities.
Avoiding anxiety creates “existential guilt”
Guilt over unrealized life and potential
IV. Do people have boundaries?
Yalom and Sartre
Human beings have boundaries and will survive on their own
All people in existence build their lives alone or with others
frankl
Human beings are embedded in a larger structure of existence
Harmony between man and nature, superego
V. How to make peace with death?
1||| Realize that "death changes with me" (Jaspers)
2||| Incorporate death as a possibility into real life and make life more real (Heidegger)
3||| Realize that life is not just living, but a state of a free person unfolding from the inside out
六、 Basic life dilemmas—choices and responsibilities
I. Overview
Choice is based on freedom, but it also means responsibility
When you say yes to one thing and no to another, you have consequences for yourself and others. Being responsible is fully recognizing and accepting the consequences of your actions.
II. Two states of decision-making
Consciously weigh the pros and cons
A major decision was made
III. philosophy of decision making
Rollo-May
feel desire
Feel and be aware of what is happening to yourself
activate will
Turn subconscious feelings into consciousness (clarify your preferences)
make a decision
Transform will into decision and responsibility
Macquarie
To choose means to give up, to decide in favor of one possibility means to give up other possibilities.
Jaspers
Don’t be afraid to struggle and struggle
Endure the pain, learn to wait, and the decision will come.
IV. The relationship between individuals and their decisions
core self theory
Human beings have a relatively stable self (core or essence)
Make your own choices and decisions
relational self theory
Individual choices and outcomes shape the self
The self is not fixed, it is always being generated through action
V. formation and development of self
initially malleable
socially constructed into specific patterns
Beliefs about the nature of the world and self
Give the self a sense of entity
Two possibilities when belief conflicts with reality
1||| Reality adjusts to beliefs
The individual denies or reinterprets reality
2||| Question existing stereotypes
The self changes
VI. Can you change your life?
Depends on how you think about "change"
Influencing factors
1||| childhood
Psychoanalytic approach (childhood determinism)
There is a fixed childhood
Childhood experiences determine adult life and problems
It is a single causal relationship
People often use this as an excuse to lead an irresponsible life
existential approach
Childhood is childhood that has been interpreted
Adults use it to define who they are
Successful and optimistic people tend to choose happy childhood memories and vice versa
can be reinterpreted
What matters is not what happened in the past, but your present purpose (Adler)
Extension: Why people are keen to explore the past
To make peace with yourself – understand and accept the truth about your life
To integrate the split parts of the personality
Adults often have different emotions, which are like islands of the mind, wrapped in limited childhood memories. Exploring the past and reuniting those fragments can help bring hidden emotions back into conscious living.
2||| "ordinary people"
concept
an impersonal entity composed of other people and society
considered to have the right behavior and way of being
relationship with individual
1||| Individuals are often subject to “ordinary people”
Follow others' opinions
2||| “Ordinary people” are not responsible for individual lives
It will only pretend to take a stand on anything and declare what to do, but it will not take responsibility
3||| The words of “ordinary people” are average and limited.
It's always right, but it doesn't involve any specific person or thing
VII. How to take over your life
Choose a life consistent with basic values
means self-exploration
Taking responsibility (responding to life’s demands)
Responsible for their own
1||| Awareness of oneself as the undisputed originator of something
People always have the freedom to choose their attitude, there is no unchangeable situation
A specific situation must be a person’s independent choice
2||| Acknowledge your lifestyle, acknowledge choices and omissions
3||| Acknowledge that the personal world is subjective
Have stereotypes and prejudices about yourself and others
4||| Separate topics well
5||| Identify evasion mechanisms
victim mentality
One slap can't make a sound
Transfer of responsibility (let others take responsibility for themselves)
responsible for others
1||| Let others be as they are
Be "present" and make space in your heart for others ("presence" is something that can be shown immediately, a look, a small...)
2||| Caring for others
Practice loyalty and forgiveness
Stay away from false care
Being sentimental and only thinking about your own feelings
responsible for the world
do what you can
The important thing is to lead by example and convey the spirit
Become one with the world
Feeling connected in some way to the larger world
七、 Basic Dilemmas of Life—Chaos and Meaning
I. Overview
The pursuit of meaning is the primary driver of human life
50 to 100 years ago, everything had a definite meaning, it was passed down by word of mouth, and everyone's questions could be answered.
The meaning of life today is a vacuum
Diverse values blur things that were certain in the past. Everyone must rely on themselves to find their place in the world.
II. life goals and values
A life goal is something concrete that provides a person with form and direction
such as career choice
Life value is a specific vision that forms the basis of individual life and is something more fundamental
<What kind of person do you want to be? >
III. Basic theories about the value of life
Allport - six types of people
theoretical type
Live to discover the truth (scientist)
Economical
Care about the use and economic value of things
Aesthetic type
Care about the feeling and enjoyment brought by life (artist)
social type
Consider friendship and closeness to others as the most important values
political type
interested in rights
Religious
Find oneness with something beyond the everyday
Fromm - two modes of survival
possession mode
Trying to possess and control (someone or feeling)
Point to certain fixed, describeable expectations or requirements
If you want your son to become a dragon
existential mode
Meet the world freely and openly
Frankl - Three Values
creative value
realized in building and giving
Pursuing goals in the work or family sphere
Expansive
experiential value
realized by opening one's arms to the world
receptive
attitudinal value
Spiritual value demonstrated in adversity
Such as being strong, grateful, and kind
IV. How to find the meaning of life - "logotherapy"
1||| Recognize that meaning is what you create
"You cannot ask what is the meaning of life; for you, this question means nothing. Instead, life itself asks you the question - What kind of life do you want to achieve? You must try to answer the question, not Ask a question."
2||| to explore life
reason
Find meaning by seeing patterns and purpose in life's events
Living in confusion, days in pieces
Will be surrounded by a sense of meaninglessness and fall into an "existential vacuum"
3||| made a promise
Take action and take responsibility
V. Are life goals arbitrary?
Sure (Sartre)
It doesn’t matter what you choose, what matters is making the choice
The meaning of life can only be constructed independently by oneself
Negation (Frankl)
Life goals are not arbitrary
Life situations will tell us what to choose
Various factors in life (such as people's experience, personality, etc.) will be combined to give us guidance
consensus
Cherish what you have
learn to be grateful
Enjoy all the experiences life has to offer